Memorie >> Trattamenti termici

EFFECT OF THE HEAT TREATMENT ON

THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF A
PRECIPITATION HARDENING STEEL
FOR LARGE PLASTIC MOLDS
D. Firrao, P. Matteis, G. M. M. Mortarino, P. Russo Spena, M. G. Ienco, G. Pellati,
M. R. Pinasco, R. Gerosa, G. Silva, B. Rivolta, M. E. Tata, R. Montanari

Continuously growing activity in the area of the engineering plastics led to the necessity of developing
new low-cost, high-performance plastic mold steels. In fact, when it is necessary to fabricate large plastic
components, such as bumpers and dashboards for motor vehicles, the traditionally adopted ISO 1.2738 plastic
mold steel exhibits low fracture toughness and highly inhomogeneous microstructures (continuously varying
from surface to core), as obtained from the pre-hardening (quenching and tempering) of large blooms. New
alloys and alternative manufacturing routes may allow to obtain plastic injection molds with good mechanical,
wear and weldability properties. Precipitation hardening tool steels are being proposed for such an application,
yielding improved mechanical properties and lower overall costs and lead-time. A precipitation hardenable
steel, developed for injection molding of large engineering polymer components, was investigated.
The microstructures and the mechanical properties of the precipitation hardenable steel bloom were
investigated after the steelwork heat treatment. Moreover, the strengthening mechanism by means of aging
heat treatments was examined on samples subjected either to the steelwork heat treatment only, or also to a
successive laboratory heat treatment. To the purpose, X-rays diffraction and EDS analyses were carried out in
order to indentify second phases electrochemically extracted from aged and not aged samples.

KEYWORDS: plastic mold steel, precipitation hardening, metallography, mechanical properties, fracture toughness,
fractography

INTRODUCTION
Large steel molds are employed in injection molding processes to
fabricate massive plastic automotive components (such as bump-
ers and dashboards), by using glass-reinforced thermoplastic pol-
ymers. During the service, several stresses act on a plastic mold:
polymer’s injection pressure, mechanical and thermal fatigue (a
few millions of pieces can be fabricated with one mold), and wear
from reinforced resin flows; stresses can be further enhanced by
notch effects and by abnormal shop operations.
The molds are commonly machined from large quenched and
tempered blooms, typically with 1x1 m cross-section and more
than 1 m length. The ISO 1.2738 (or 40CrMnNiMo8-6-4 [1]) alloy
Donato Firrao, Paolo Matteis, Giovanni M. M. Mortarino,
Pasquale Russo Spena
Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Maria G. Ienco, Gabriella Pellati, Maria R. Pinasco
Università di Genova, Italy
Riccardo Gerosa, Giuseppe Silva, Barbara Rivolta
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Maria E. Tata, Roberto Montanari
Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Italy
steel grade is the most used steel. Due to the large section, blooms
of the above steel exhibit after, heat treatment, inhomogeneous
microstructures and mechanical properties continuously varying
from the surface to the core of the bloom; impact notch strength
and fracture toughness are everywhere quite low (at the 10 J and
40 MPa√m level, respectively [2]). Moreover, the ISO 1.2738 steel
is difficult to weld (1.16 carbon equivalent index [3]), although
weld bed deposition operations are usually necessary to modify
the mold face, also to extend the service life during model re-
vamping.
Several precipitation hardening steels have been proposed as an
alternative, with the aim of yielding more uniform microstruc-
tures and better properties throughout the mold sections, and to
improve weldability (a carbon content lower than 0.4% may be
adopted).
The P21 [4,5] standard grade steel, for example, contains 0.2% C,
4% Ni, 1.2% Co, and lower amounts of V, Al, Mn, Si, Cr [4]; yet,
most grades are proprietary and not disclosed in detail [6]. The
solubilization temperature can be subcritical, as for the P21 grade
[4,7] (albeit after an hypercritical annealing [7]), or hypercritical,
for some proprietary grades, whereas the aging temperature is al-
ways subcritical (e.g. 530 °C for the P21 grade [4,7]), and therefore
yields only very limited dimensional variations. The final (serv-

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a b

s
Fig. 1
Heat treatment schedule (dashed lines represent uncontrolled air cooling stages). a): Preliminary heat treatment (grey
lines, including de-hydrogenation), final heat treatment (black lines). b): Bloom cooling curves from surface to core (constant-
parameters analytical calculation) superimposed to the CCT diagram.
Trattamento termico complessivo (le linee tratteggiate rappresentano raffreddamenti liberi in aria). a): Trattamento termico preliminare
(linee grigie, includente la de-idrogenazione), trattamento termico finale (linee nere). b): Curve di raffreddamento del blumo da superficie
a cuore (calcolo analitico a parametri costanti) sovrapposte al diagramma CCT.

ice) hardness is usually in the 37-42 HRC [6] range.
The precipitation hardening heat treatment can be performed af-
ter mould machining, owing to the fact that it induces only very
limited deformations [8], and a suitable aging treatment may yield
homogeneous microstructures and mechanical properties in geo-
metrically complex and large moulds. Furthermore, in some cases
(e.g. for the here proposed steel), the preliminary heat-treatment
performed on the as-forged bloom can employ air cooling after
austenitization, as opposed to oil quenching in the case of tra-
ditional hardened steels, thus yielding much lower temperature
gradients and minimizing residual stresses.
In the present work a precipitation hardenable steel is investi-
gated; its chemical composition is listed in Tab. 1. The aging of
this steel in the 550 to 630 °C temperature range was previously
studied by means of hardness tests performed after increasing ag-
ing durations [9], evidencing overaging peaks after 1 or 2 h aging
at 630 or 590 °C, respectively, as opposed to almost asymptotic
aging at 550 °C up to 20 h duration. For this reason, and since
the homogeneous heating of large moulds may require several
hours and implies different actual durations at temperature from
surface to core, only aging temperatures equal or lower than 550
°C are considered here.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
The bloom production cycle, performed in the steelwork, consist-
ed of several steps: ingot casting, hot forging (in order to reduce
the microstructural and chemical inhomogeneities and to obtain
a 2400 (L) x 1500 (T) x 500 (S) mm bloom), preliminary heat treat-
ment (including a dehydrogenization process), austenitization/
solubilization, air quenching, low-temperature tempering. The
heat treatment schedule is displayed in Fig.1a.
By superimposing the austenite cooling stages (of the bloom heat
treatment) to the steel’s CCT diagram (Fig. 1b), it can be hypoth-
esized that: i) during the first austenitization, most of the primary
Mo and V carbides were dissolved; ii) during the first air cooling
and furnace cooling stages, the austenite-to-pearlite transforma-
tion was avoided, a fine and homogeneous carbides re-precipi-
tation occurred, and the austenite was finally transformed into
bainite at lower temperatures, no transformation taking place in
the final uncontrolled air cooling to room temperature; iii) the
de-hydrogenization treatment, performed in two steps, caused
(tempering and) aging of the bainitic matrix and carbides coars-
ening. Moreover, as it regards the final heat treatment, the bloom
was austenitized at a lower temperature (1020 °C), so that Mo
and V carbides were partially dissolved, and it is hypothesized
that, after the air quenching, a homogeneous and fully bainitic
microstructure was obtained both in the surface and in the core of
the bloom. Finally, the steel was subjected to a double tempering
at 400 °C.
All the examined samples were cut from the bloom at a distance
of less than 170 mm from the bloom surface in the S direction.

C Mn Cr Ni Mo Si V
0.05 - 0.15 0.1 - 1.1 0.1 - 0.9 2.5 - 4.5 2.5 - 4.5 0.1 - 1.1 0.05 – 0.20
s
Tab. 1
Nominal chemical composition of the proposed steel (wt. %) (actual analysis covered by industrial confidentiality).
Composizione chimica nominale dell’acciaio proposto (% in peso) (analisi esatta coperta da riservatezza industriale).

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 Memorie >> Trattamenti termici

a b

c d

s
Fig. 2
As-received bloom microstructure: homogeneous bainite modified by tempering microscopy. Picral (a) and Nital (b,c,d)
etch. Optical microscopy at increasing magnifications (a,b,c) and electron microscopy (d).
Microstruttura del blumo allo stato di fornitura: bainite omogenea modificata dal rinvenimento. Attacco Picral (a) e Nital (b,c,d). Micro-
scopia ottica ad ingrandimento crescente (a,b,c) e microscopi elettronica (d).

Moreover, some samples were subjected to the following labora-
tory re-heat-treatment: austenitization/solubilization at 1050 °C,
water quenching, double tempering at 400 °C.
Sets of either as-received or laboratory re-heat-treated samples
were then aged at three different temperatures: 470, 510, or 550
°C. Different samples of each set were extracted from the fur-
nace after aging durations increasing up to 8 hours, and water
quenched.
The microstructure was examined by optical and electronic mi-
croscopy, after Nital or Picral [10] etch, and the austenitic average
grain size was measured by using the circular intercept method
[11], after Bechet-Beaujard [12] etch.
Standard tensile tests, plain-strain fracture toughness tests, Char-
py-V impact tests, Vickers hardness tests, and FIMEC (Flat top cy-
lindrical Indentations for Mechanical Characterization) test were
performed upon samples cut from the steel bloom, either in the
as-received state or after the above described re-heat treatments.
The reported hardness values are averages of 3 indentations.
Fracture toughness tests were performed on 35 mm thick SENB
(Single Edge Notch Bend) specimens [13]. The FIMEC indenta-
tion tests [14,15,16,17] were performed with a flat cylindrical in-
denter (1 mm diameter) and a 1.66 µm/s displacement rate. The
fracture surfaces of tensile and fracture toughness samples were
examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
X-ray diffraction and EDS analyses were performed on electro-
chemically extracted second phases (carbides and inclusions), in
order to detect the nature of the particles precipitated during the
aging heat treatment. The sample was dissolved in ethanol and
hydrochloric acid (10% vol.), the undissolved second phases were
collected on a filter (0.1 mm mesh size), and the filter was subject-
ed to X-ray diffraction analysis (Co-Kα radiation). For compari-
son, the same analysis was carried out on an unused filter. EDS
analyses was performed on compacted second phase powder.
RESULTS
Microstructures
After the steelwork heat treatment, the as-received microstruc-
ture is homogeneous bainite, modified by tempering (Fig. 2).
Small randomly distributed carbide particles, not completely
resolved by optical microscopy, are present in the bainitic
matrix, probably Mo and V carbides. The previous austenite
grain boundaries are clearly evident (Fig. 2c,d), probably due
to the occurrence of a precipitated carbides layer, not always

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Trattamenti termici
a a
b c
s s
Fig. 3
Microstructures after aging for about 330 min
(from as-received condition) at 470 °C (a) and 550 °C (b);
temper modified bainite.
Microstrutture dopo invecchiamento per circa 330 min. (dalla
condizione di fornitura) a 470 °C (a) e 550 °C (b); bainite
modificata dal rinvenimento.
continuous, and partially removed during the metallographic
preparation. The average austenitic grain size is 130 µm (mean
of 263 intercepts).
As it regards the laboratory re-heat-treatment, after water
quenching, a martensitic microstructure with lath morphology
(typical of low carbon steels) was obtained. The microstructure
exhibits 445 HV100 hardness and 980 MPa yield strength (deter-
mined by FIMEC test). The tempered martensite, obtained af-
ter the first tempering at 400 °C, exhibited a morphology simi-
lar to the previous as-quenched martensite, but with a lower
hardness (420 HV100) and yield strength (910 MPa, by FIMEC
test). Both the microstructure and these mechanical properties
did not change noticeably after the second tempering.
The optical metallographic analysis of as received samples has not
detected important microstructural variation after aging (Fig. 3).
The previous austenite grain boundary precipitates, observed
in the as-received samples, are not present in the re-heat treat-
ed samples, neither after the quenching nor after the double
tempering at 400 °C (Fig. 4a); however, they are again visible,
in increasing amount, after aging the re-heat-treated samples
at temperatures increasing from 470 to 550 °C (Fig. 4b,c,d).
4 aprile 2009 << la metallurgia italiana
<< Memorie
Fig. 4
Re-heat-treated samples microstructure (water
quenching and double tempering at 400°C) (a). Micro-
structure after further aging for 330 min. at 470 °C (b),
510 °C (c) and 550 °C (d). Tempered martensite.
Microstruttura dei campioni ritrattati (tempra in acqua e
doppio rinvenimento a 400 °C) (a). Microstrutture dopo i
successivi trattamenti di invecchiamento per 330 min. a
470 °C (b), 510 °C (c) e 550 °C (d). Martensite rinvenuta.
Detailed SEM examination of aged samples (initially be-
ing either in the as-received or in the re-heat-treated condi-
tion) showed that the amount of detectable carbides mostly
decreases with the aging duration and temperature (Fig. 5);
therefore, it is hypothesized that during the aging treatments
the previously existing carbides, formed during the previous
heat treatments and probably not thermodynamically stable
in the aging temperature range, are progressively solubilized,
while finer (undetectable) carbides, possibly with a different
composition, are re-precipitated and may be the origin of the
detected hardness increase (see below).
The X-ray analysis of the second phases (carbides and inclu-
sions) electrochemically extracted from the re-heat-treated
sample aged at 550 °C for 440 min is displayed in Fig. 6. The
most important diffraction peaks can be attributed to the
η-MoC carbide, with the possible presence of the V7C8 car-
bide. Moreover, the EDS analysis, carried out on the same
second phases compacted powder, has confirmed the oc-
currence of molybdenum, that has the highest peak, and of
 Memorie >> Trattamenti termici

d s
Fig. 6
Filter and filter-plus-carbides diffraction spectra
of re-heat treated sample aged at 550 °C for 440 min;
diffraction peaks of η-MoC (PDF # 08-0384) and V8C7
(PDF # 35-0786).
Spettri di diffrazione di un filtro vuoto e del filtro con
carburi del campione ri-trattato ed invecchiato a 550
°C per 440 min; picchi di diffrazione di η-MoC (PDF #
8-384) e V8C7 (PDF # 35-786).

s hardness of the as received and re-heat-treated material.
Fig. 5
Amount of detectable carbides (from SEM
observations) during aging of either as-received or
re-heat-treated samples, as a percentage of the
amount observed before aging, as a function of the
aging duration and temperature, for different carbide
morphologies (continuous lines - elongated carbides,
and dashed lines - small carbides).
Quantità di carburi rilevabili (da osservazioni SEM)
durante l’invecchiamento di campioni o in stato di
fornitura, o ri-trattati, come percentuale della quantità
osservata prima dell’invecchiamento, in funzione della
durata e temperatura dell’invecchiamento, per diverse
morfologie dei carburi (linee continue - carburi allungati e
linee tratteggiate - carburi piccoli).
s
Fig. 7
Effect of the aging temperature and duration on the
Effetto della temperatura e della durata dell’invecchiamento
sulla durezza del materiale allo stato di fornitura e ri-trattato.
others elements, such as V, Fe, Cr, Si.
Mechanical tests
The results of the tensile and fracture toughness tests are listed
in Tab. 2 and 3, and compared with the previously assessed
properties of the ISO 1.2738 steel [2]. In particular, the fracture
toughness value of the examined steel in the as-received con-
dition is somewhat higher than that of the ISO 1.2738 steel,
whereas the tensile properties are comparable.
The hardness curves relative to the age hardening heat treat-
ment on the as-received and re-heat-treated samples are dis-
played in Fig. 7. The 550 °C aging temperature yielded the

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YS UTS n Elu Elt The FIMEC stress vs. displacement

curves, obtained on the as-received
Condition / steel MPa MPa - % % and re-heat treated samples aged
As-received (A.r.) 855 1156 0.13 8.7 15 for the longest durations (about 440
A.r. + Aged 470 °C 817 1233 0.16 9.2 12.1 min, Fig. 8), confirm the above re-
sults: the yield stress (like the hard-
A.r. + Aged 510 °C 1054 1331 0.12 6.3 7.6 ness) increases from 890 MPa in
A.r. + Aged 550 °C 1225 1417 0.14 2.4 1.1 the as-received condition, to 1230,
RHT + aged 470 °C 1062 1288 0.10 5.2 13.6 1275 and 1375 MPa, after aging at
470, 510 and 550 °C, respectively;
RHT + aged 510 °C 1154 1356 0.09 4.6 12.9 the as-received and re-heat treated
RHT + aged 550 °C 1302 1457 0.10 2.8 12.0 FIMEC curves become similar at
increasing aging temperature, and
1.2738 surface 953 1092 0.10 7.0 14
those pertaining to the highest
1.2738 core 665 983 0.17 8.8 15.7 aging temperature are consistent
with the slight overaging observed
s
in the re-heat treated samples (Fig. 7).
Tab. 2 Charpy impact notch tests were carried out as a function of
Tensile properties of the examined steel, in different temperature on the as-received and re-heat-treated samples,
metallurgical conditions, compared with the 1.2738 steel the latter being either not aged, or aged at 520 °C for 2 h. (Fig.
(average values for each steel or position). YS: Yield Streng- 9). The laboratory re-heat-treatment noticeably decreases the
th; UTS: Ultimate Tensile Strength; n: hardening exponent; brittle to ductile transition temperature, which anyway re-
Elu uniform elongation; Elt elongation at fracture. Aging mains above the room temperature (Fig. 9). The fracture sur-
duration 2.5 h. faces appearance, in the center of the samples, is always brittle
Proprietà tensili dell’acciaio esaminato, in diverse condizioni and consists mainly of cleavage zones.
metallurgiche, confrontato con l’acciaio 1.2738 (valori medi per The results of the tensile tests performed on the as-received
ciascun acciaio o posizione). YS: tensione di snervamento; UTS: and re-heat treated specimens after aging at 470, 510 and 550
tensione di rottura; n: esponente di incrudimento; Elu allunga- °C for 2.5 h are displayed in Tab. 2 and in Fig. 10. As expected,
mento uniforme; Elt allungamento a rottura. Tempo di invecchia- aging at increasing temperatures yields higher yield and ten-
mento 2,5 h. sile strength, but lower uniform and fracture elongation. Con-
sistently with the aforementioned hardness measurements
Fracture toughness (Fig. 7), aged as-received and aged re-heat-treated specimens
Condition / steel MPa√m have different uniform elongation, yield and tensile strength,
for the same aging temperature, but these differences de-
As-received (A.r.) 70 crease at increasing aging temperature. On the contrary, the
A.r. + Aged (3 h at 525 °C) 43 elongation-to-fracture difference increases; in particular, the
1.2738 surface 35 aged as-received samples fail in a brittle manner, without ap-
preciable necking. The lower toughness of the as-received and
1.2738 core 45 aged condition is confirmed by a significant reduction of the
fracture toughness after aging, from 70 to 43 MPa√m (Tab. 3).
s
The plane-strain fracture surface of the as-received material
Tab. 3
Fracture toughness (KIc) of the examined steel, in
different metallurgical conditions, compared with the 1.2738
steel (average values).
Tenacità a frattura (KIc) dell’acciaio esaminato, in diverse con-
dizioni metallurgiche, confrontato con l’acciaio 1.2738 (valori
medi).

highest hardness values: 490 HV100 for the re-heat treated

sample and 485 HV100 for the as-received one, starting from
420 and 380 HV100, respectively. As a consequence, the as-re-
ceived specimens are more sensitive to the aging heat treat-
ment than the re-heat-treated ones, achieving a similar hard-
ness notwithstanding their hardness being less before aging.
Probably, this behavior is due to the fact that the hardness
of the bainitic and martensitic microstructure (of the as-re- s
ceived and re-heat treated samples, respectively) progres- Fig. 8
sively becomes similar at increasing aging temperature, due FIMEC flat indentation stress-displacement curves.
to supplementary tempering phenomena superimposing on As-received and re-heat-treated (RHT) specimens before and
the aging precipitation. Overaging phenomena are not de- after aging for about 440 min at 470, 510, or 550 °C.
tected, except that in the re-heat treated sample aged at 550 Curve tensione spostamento dell’indentazione piana FIMEC.
°C, which exhibits a slight decrease in hardness for duration Campioni in stato di fornitura e ritrattati (RHT) prima e dopo
longer than 3 hours. l’invecchiamento per circa 440 min a 470, 510 o 550 °C.

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s received and re-heat treated, RHT, condition). Yield Strength
Fig. 9
Charpy-V impact tests: brittle-to-ductile transition
curves of the as-received, re-heat-treated, and re-heat-
treated and aged (at about 520°C for 2 h) metallurgical
conditions.
Prove di resilienza Charpy-V: curve di transizione fragile-duttile
dei campioni in condizioni metallurgiche di fornitura, ri-trattata,
e ri-trattata ed invecchiata (a circa 520 °C per 2h).
shows mainly cleavage facets (Fig. 11a,b), with small ductile
intergranular rupture areas (Fig. 11b); the latter morphology
becomes prevalent in the as-received tensile fracture surface,
together with some cleavage (Fig. 12).
Overall, the morphology of the tensile fracture surfaces of the
different examined aged conditions depend mainly on the
metallurgical state before the aging heat treatment. In fact,
both the aged and not-aged as-received samples exhibit cleav-
age areas and ductile intergranular rupture areas (consistently
s
Fig. 10
Tensile properties of aged samples (from initial as-
(YS) and Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS), elongation to
fracture (Elt) and uniform elongation (Elu).
Proprietà tensili di campioni invecchiati (dalle condizioni iniziali
di fornitura, as. rec., o di ri-trattamento, RHT). Tensione di
snervamento (YS) e di rottura (UTS), allungamento a rottura
(Elt) ed allungamento uniforme (Elu).
with the lack of necking, Fig. 12a,c,e), whereas the fracture
surfaces of the re-heat-treated and aged samples always show
a cup-and-cone morphology, with mode-I coalesced micro-
voids and mode-II shear areas (Fig. 12b,d).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The microstructure of the examined positions inside the steel
bloom consists almost completely of bainite modified by tem-
pering. Therefore, the bloom fracture toughness is low in com-
parison to usual quenched and tempered steels, being about

a b

s
Fig. 11
Plane-strain fracture surfaces in the as-received steel, at the onset of metastable crack propagation (a) and in the crack
propagation region (b).
Superfici di frattura in deformazione piana nell’acciaio in stato di fornitura, all’inizio della propagazione instabile (a) e nella regione di
propagazione instabile (b).

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Trattamenti termici << Memorie

a b

c d

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 Memorie >> Trattamenti termici
s
Fig. 12
Tensile fracture surface of as-received (a,c,e) and
re-heat-treated (b,d) steel, after aging at 550 °C. Overviews
(a,b) and details (c,d,e).
Superfici di frattura a trazione dell’acciaio in stato di fornitura
(a,c,e) e ri-trattato (b,d), dopo invecchiamento a 550 °C. Viste
complessive (a,b) e dettagli (c,d,e).
70 MPa√m, but somewhat higher in respect to the largely
used 1.2738 steel (40 MPa√m on average).
The as-received steel shows a precipitates layer at the previ-
ous austenitic grain boundaries, which may be tentatively
related with the ductile intergranular fracture observed af-
ter the tensile tests in the as-received, both not-aged and
aged, samples. Nevertheless, the aged re-heat-treated ten-
sile specimens present fully ductile fracture surfaces, even
if they also show a similar precipitates layer at the auste-
nitic grain boundaries after the aging treatment (although
not after the re-heat-treatment). Therefore, the possible re-
lationship among the grain-boundary precipitates and the
intergranular rupture is not yet completely clear.
The as-received specimens are more sensitive to the aging
heat treatment than the re-heat-treated ones, since they
yield increasingly similar hardness values after aging at in-
creasing temperatures, notwithstanding their lower hard-
ness before aging. This fact may be partially explained by
hypothesizing that the initial differences between the bai-
nitic and martensitic matrixes (already tempered at low
temperature) are progressively reduced due to coalescence
phenomena occurring during tempering at increasing tem-
peratures and interferring with the precipitation during ag-
ing.
The FIMEC and tensile tests of aged and not aged samples
overall confirm the results of the hardness versus aging du-
ration tests; moreover, the tensile tests evidence a difference
in the fracture mode between the as-received and aged sam-
ples and those re-heat-treated and aged, the former gener-
ally showing brittle fracture surfaces without significant
necking, and the latter ductile fracture surfaces and evident
necking. Therefore, and also by considering the reduction
of fracture toughness (43 MPa√m) of the as-received steel
after aging at 525 °C, it is concluded that the aging treat-
ment generally causes a relevant toughness reduction.
Overall, the reported results, and particularly the hardness
curves as a function of the aging duration, outline the kinet-
ics of the aging process and constitute a data set that could
be employed for the choice of the more suitable parameters
(duration and temperature) for the aging treatment of spe-
cific molds. In particular, the substantially asymptotic trend
of the hardness, as a function of the aging duration, at the
examined temperatures and for durations up to 8 h, may
allow to obtain homogeneous result also in the aging of
molds with large cross-section, for which the actual dura-
tion at temperature is necessarily differentiated from sur-
face to core.
Nevertheless, the nature of the metallurgical transforma-
tions that originate the hardening process has not been
completely determined yet and will be the subject of further
studies. A first hint in this direction is given by the observa-
tion of the gradual disappearance of the previously existing
carbides during the aging treatments, which may be related
with the precipitation of different, finer carbides.
la metallurgia italiana >> aprile 2009
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Italian Ministry for University and Research, for financial sup-
port by research grant PRIN 2005090102. Lucchini Sidermec-
canica steelwork, Lovere, Italy, for steel procurement and the
CCT diagram.
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9
Trattamenti termici
ABSTRACT
EFFETTO DEL TRATTAMENTO TERMICO SULLE
PROPRIETÀ MECCANICHE DI UN ACCIAIO INDURENTE
PER PRECIPITAZIONE PER GRANDI STAMPI PER
MATERIE PLASTICHE
Parole chiave: acciaio, precipitazione
Gli stampi per particolari in materia plastica di grande dimensione, quali
per esempio paraurti e cruscotti, usati nell’industria automobilistica, sono
solitamente lavorati per asportazione di truciolo da grandi blocchi di accia-
io prebonificato. I blumi di acciaio ISO 1.2738 tradizionalmente usati pre-
sentano microstrutture disomogenee e tenacità ridotta (KIc ≈ 40 MPa√m
e KV ≈ 10 J a temperatura ambiente); inoltre questo acciaio è difficilmente
saldabile (Ceq ≈ 1,16). Numerosi acciai indurenti per precipitazione sono
stati proposti come alternativa per superare questi limiti.
Siccome i processi di indurimento per precipitazione inducono deforma-
zioni molto limitate, possono essere svolti dopo la lavorazione meccanica.
Inoltre, questi processi possono produrre microstrutture e proprietà mecca-
niche omogenee in stampi grandi e geometricamente complessi.
È stato esaminato un acciaio induribile per precipitazione sviluppato per la
fabbricazione di stampi per materie plastiche, con la composizione chimica
esposta in Tabella I. Il ciclo produttivo consiste di colata, forgiatura, trat-
tamento termico iniziale (svolto in acciaieria), lavorazione meccanica ed
indurimento per invecchiamento. Il trattamento termico iniziale consiste
di un trattamento preliminare (includente una de-idrogenazione) seguito
da austenitizzazione/solubilizzazione a 1020 °C, tempra in aria e doppio
rinvenimento a 400 °C (Fig. 1); questo trattamento è rivolto ad ottenere
una microstruttura bainitica con durezza compresa tra 310 e 350 HB.
Un blumo di dimensione originale 500x1500x2400 mm è stato esaminato
allo stato di fornitura, cioè dopo il trattamento termico iniziale sopra de-
scritto. Inoltre, alcuni campioni sono stati ritrattati in laboratorio come
segue: austenitizzazione/solubilizzazione a 1050 °C, tempra in acqua, dop-
pio rinvenimento a 400 °C, ottenendo martensite rinvenuta.
Il rafforzamento per precipitazione è stato studiato usando campioni ini-
10 aprile 2009 << la metallurgia italiana
<< Memorie
zialmente o allo stato di fornitura, o ritrattati in laboratorio, e poi invec-
chiati a 470, 510 o 550 °C per durate fino ad 8 h.
Le microstrutture sono illustrate nelle Fig. 2, 3 e 4. La dimensione del
grano austenitico allo stato di fornitura è di 130 µm. Carburi precipitati
presso i bordi di grano austenitici sono presenti allo stato di fornitura,
assenti allo stato ri-trattato, e nuovamente presenti allo stato ritrattato
ed invecchiato. La quantità di carburi osservati mediante SEM decresce
all’aumentare della temperatura e durata dell’invecchiamento (Fig. 5); si
ipotizza che i carburi esistenti agli inizi degli invecchiamenti siano gra-
dualmente solubilizzati, permettendo la precipitazione di altri carburi più
fini, non osservabili, che causano il rafforzamento. L’analisi XRD dalle
seconde fasi, estratte per via elettrochimica (da un campione ri-trattato ed
invecchiato a 550 °C, Fig. 6), evidenzia la presenza di η-MoC e la possibile
presenza di V7C8.
Allo stato di fornitura la durezza e le proprietà tensili sono paragonabili a
quelle dell’acciaio ISO 1.2738, ma la tenacità a frattura è maggiore (Tab. II
e III); la frattura in deformazione piana avviene per clivaggio (Fig. 11). Il
ritrattamento termico riduce sensibilmente la temperatura di transizione
fragile-duttile (Fig. 9). Gli invecchiamenti incrementano notevolmente la
durezza (Fig. 7); l’incremento è maggiore per i campioni allo stato di for-
nitura, la cui durezza iniziale è minore; per le temperature e durate esami-
nate il sovrainvecchiamento è assente o trascurabile. Questi risultati sono
confermati anche da prove di indentazione strumentata con penetratore
cilindrico (FIMEC, Fig. 8). L’invecchiamento a temperature crescenti au-
menta le tensioni di snervamento e rottura, coerentemente con l’aumento
della durezza (Fig. 10); però i campioni di trazione allo stato di fornitu-
ra ed invecchiati si rompono in modo fragile, senza apprezzabile strizione
(contrariamente a quelli ritrattati ed invecchiati, Fig. 10 e 12). L’effetto
avverso dell’invecchiamento sulla tenacità, nel caso di materiale inizial-
mente allo stato di fornitura, è confermato dalla riduzione della tenacità a
frattura (KIc ≈ 43 MPa√m dopo invecchiamento a 525 °C).
Nel loro insieme, i risultati esposti illustrano la cinetica e gli effetti del
processo di invecchiamento e costituiscono un insieme di dati utili per sce-
gliere i parametri di invecchiamento più adeguati per specifici stampi.